May 23, 2012

Danny Coale to have surgery Thursday but is expected back for camp

Rookie receiver Danny Coale didn't have long to impress the coaches in his bid for the No. 3 receiver spot, but he'll have more time once training camp begins. Coale broke a bone in his left foot near the end of Tuesday's organized team activity. It was the first off-season practice for the Cowboys.

"He was just planting his foot, ...turned on the side of his foot, I guess," receivers coach Jimmy Robinson said. "It’s unfortunate, but he’s a smart kid, and he’ll stay focused in on it, and I think we will have him back. It won’t be during the OTAs, but he’ll be back."

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Coale, a fifth-round pick from Virgina Tech, will have surgery Thursday. But Garrett expects Coale back for the start of training camp. The Cowboys' rookies are among players expected for workouts at Valley Ranch on July 25-27 before the team departs for Oxnard, Calif., on July 28.

"All indications is it is the kind of injury that should have a pretty clean recovery, and it seems like it’s a simple surgery, and as I say that, everyone understands that there’s no such thing as a simple surgery," Garrett said. "But we’re relatively optimistic about the doctors being able to go in and fix that thing and him being back fairly quickly and hopefully ready to go on Day 1 of training camp."

Coale made 60 catches for 904 yards and three touchdowns last season, giving him 165 receptions for 2,658 yards and eight touchdowns in his career. He is expected to compete with Kevin Ogletree, Dwayne Harris, Raymond Radway and Andre Holmes for the third receiver role, a spot vacated by Laurent Robinson, who signed with Jacksonville.